Learning Commons Blog: Refresh Sleep Program

In my obsessive desire to improve my overall sleep pattern,
I started the Refresh Sleep Program one week ago. I’ve researched “how to get the best sleep”, drank tea, practiced yoga, and even showered earlier with the hopes of attaining eight hours of sleep per night. Sadly, this has yet to be the case, but there has been a noticeable improvement. I could not get to sleep earlier last week, at least not with all the pressure I put on myself to change my habits. This week, I’ve changed my pattern little by little. When I look at the clock, 11 pm makes me sleepy. I also time myself using a stopwatch to make sure I stay on track. I’ve been getting to bed before midnight for four days now.

Since I stayed up until 2am last Wednesday, I went to bed by midnight over the weekend. I’ve also been extremely exhausted from all my work, and have been ready to go to bed by 8pm. I am getting more than seven hours of sleep every night - improvement from last month - and I feel more relaxed at night too. It seems that seven and a half hours is what I need to wake up with gusto, but my energy level is still far lower than last semester. I’ll just blame the cold and my weary muscles for that.

Let's wrap this up. I was given a simple 30-second-sleep log to fill out every morning, and while I prefer reflection (all the time) it’s best to move on. Rather than weekly updates, I’ll be doing monthly updates on my sleep progress. The less I worry about it, the easier it is to get things done. This is my New Year’s resolution, and I intend to keep it.